A Phenomenological Analysis of Lived Experience of Instagram's Users

The objective of the paper is to study lived experience of Iranian Instagram users. The forming of specific kind of interactions has established by special features of the social media. The features embedded new experiences in the everyday routines of the active users; so the authors concentrated who are since long time active in this social media. Interpretive phenomenology approach and semi-structured interview has been used to understanding the deep meanings of their experiences. Concentrating on experienced users with at least two years of membership, totally, sixteen participants have been interviewed. Thematic analysis has been used for analyzing participants’ answers. Analysis of the data identified different themes such as like as appreciation and creation of social relationship; comment as dialogue field; the importance of affluence of users; and lack of formation of real friendships. In sum, regarding increasing blurring of real and cyber life differences, one must not ignore consequences of cyber experiences such as inclusion and exclusion on real life. Furthermore, any interruption in the everyday practices of Instagram users could lead to negative social and psychological consequences.